


Human

by Cynical_Prince



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Family Therapy, Friendship, Gen, Jinchuuriki Nohara Rin, Jinchuuriki-centric, Nohara Rin Lives, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance, Seal master, nohara rin-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26952766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cynical_Prince/pseuds/Cynical_Prince
Summary: They talked of ninja as tools, weapons, and killers. Of Jinchuriki as monsters, demons, and freaks. They were superhuman soldiers, capable of both incredible and terrible things. But they were still human. Rin Nohara survived the catastrophic mission that resulted in her becoming a Jinchuriki,  and after she escaped the clutches of a mysterious megalomaniac, she had to come to terms with herself in a world where killing was as commonplace as grocery shopping.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Namikaze Minato & Nohara Rin, Hatake Kakashi & Nohara Rin, Namikaze Minato/Uzumaki Kushina, Nohara Rin & Uzumaki Kushina
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a crosspost of my work by the same name on another popular fic hosting site. I'll try not to be long winded, but I'd like to welcome you, dear readers to the fic as it is now posted here. I hope you enjoy a little bit more of a gritty take on the Naruto-verse where we try our best to avoid silly plot armor like Gai getting revived by Jesus-Naruto.

**_Human_ **

**_Prologue_ **

**_Rin_ **

* * *

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

Rin Nohara woke slowly. Her mind was foggy and her thoughts distant, but it was clear immediately what had called her to consciousness. She ached, but in no way she recalled ever aching before. And problematically, in that moment she recalled very little. It felt to her as if her chakra, the source of energy, life, and ninja arts, was trying to explode out of her. It was most prominent in her chest, in her erratic heartbeat, her quick pulse.

Seconds slipped by, and Rin was unsure how long she lay in her fog. After a time, she became aware that she was, in fact, laying. She tried to look down at her body, but found her head unable to move. Curiously, there was pressure across her forehead. She tried to move her head again, with no success. She was laying on something hard and cold. She was _strapped_ to something hard and cold. There was no world where this situation was good.

She needed a moment to think, to collect her thoughts. She had time, yes, but she could not focus. Why was she here? What had she been doing before she was here? Rin searched for any useful or relevant memories, but found nothing concrete, only muddled images, half remembered phrases, and people she could not name. What did she know?

She knew her name, she knew how tall she was – five feet, two inches, her age – fourteen, her favorite food – strawberries, and any any other number of useless facts about herself. Something was stopping her from remembering everything else. Everything that was not intrinsically linked to who she was was just… gone. Except… except… yes… she was a ninja. A highly trained soldier. She owed her allegiance to…

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

Well, she didn't remember everything about her profession, but being a ninja, she surely could get out of a few leather straps. But how? It wasn't as if she really remembered anything about training as a ninja. She wanted to cry, but she knew if she did, she'd never get off of the damn table.

What did she know about being a ninja? She knew that her body was full of chakra, which was the source of… something. Chakra did something. She had known just moments ago, hadn't she? Was focusing on something what was stopping her from accessing her knowledge?

It was impossible to know for sure, but it was worth a shot. Rin turned her attention to her surroundings. It was a small room, lit by a single, dim lightbulb hanging precariously from the ceiling. There was one door, large, heavy, metal. It looked rusted, but that could have been the lighting.

And, oh!

Genjutsu!

Rin was probably under the effects of a genjutsu. One that was preventing her from thinking. She just had to temporarily disrupt the flow of her chakra through her body's circulatory system. It was simple, and she _knew_ how to do it.

She closed her eyes, and reached for her chakra. It was easy to touch, and to mold into the shapes and directions she needed it to move. That she remembered. But before she felt the familiar tug of energy that would allow her to increase her strength, command water, create fire, or dispel genjutsu, she felt the fluttering of her heart grow even faster. It refused to settle.

And then, quite suddenly, everything was white and her body was struck with pain.

Rin did not know if she screamed. She couldn't see, hear, or smell anything. There was only white hot agony. It went on forever and then forever again. Rin knew that she could never escape it. All she knew was crippling, consuming pain.

It burned in a way that nothing else had ever burned before. It was coming from within her, threatening to burst forth and consume the world. It was coming from the void around her, threatening to consume her entirely.

Eventually, mercifully, it faded into a dull ache. She was aware of her own trembling, her own erratic heartbeat, her own wheezing. Was it over? Had she died? Were her nerves damaged beyond feeling pain?

She must have spent several days just staring at the ceiling, mouth agape, feeling and thinking nothing. She could not control her shaking, her sweating, her heartbeat.

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

A thought wormed its way into her mind. A part of herself returned. Crawled back into her conscious mind. She was a shinobi, a soldier.

She didn't feel like it. She felt like a terrified fourteen year old girl.

She needed to find something that would get her out of the hell she found herself in, but she did not remember being captured, or being sent on a mission. Was it possible she was in her village? Which one was it?

She closed her eyes and saw leaves on towering trees, a high wall, a tower with a red roof, and a mountain with stone faces. _Konoha_.

Was it possible she was being held in Konoha?

But that didn't make sense. She was one of their own, a ninja in their military structure.

She couldn't be in Konoha. So where was she?

The last thing she remembered before this was…

...Obito, crushed beneath a rock, dying and in pain. He was offering his eye to Kakashi, who had been blinded by an enemy. They were crying, holding hands, saying goodbye. And then Rin was performing field surgery…

_No!_

No.

That memory was unwelcome. And she knew, _knew_ that it was old. Months, she thought, maybe years. How long had she been prisoner in this chamber?

She couldn't remember. Why couldn't she remember? Panic swelled forth, and she fought back the wild thoughts of her own demise as best she could. But she knew she was going to die here. She was going to die if she sated here. She was going to die. She was going to die. Die. Die. Die die die.

 _Think,_ she told herself. _Just think. Why are you here? What were you doing? What mission were you sent on?_

...She saw an office, the Hokage handing her a scroll. She was leaping through the trees, and then camping out with Kakashi. There was a kunai at her neck. She saw the coastline...

Rin let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. So there had been a mission. It certainly sounded right. She and Kakashi had been sent to the stretch of land in the southeast of the Land of Fire. Their orders were to… to…

The more she focused on it, the more it slipped away from her.

 _Shit!_ Rin cursed internally. Why had they been sent to the border? She supposed it would come to her eventually.

Something echoed to her left, where she could see the door. Her head would have snapped towards the sound of the noise, but she was still strapped to a table. Her neck protested at the reflex, and she felt the tendons strain in protest against the strap across her forehead.

Footsteps, coming toward the door.

This was it, she realized. This was the moment she would die. Whoever had captured her would kill her. Or violate her body in unspeakable ways before leaving her to die. She whimpered in fear.

The footsteps stopped outside the door, and Rin stopped breathing.

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

Rin closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. Maybe if this person thought she was asleep, she could buy herself more time.

The groaning of metal signaled the door's opening. Her body tensed involuntarily. The person was at her side in two steps and there was a hand on her neck. Whoever it was took her pulse.

A deep voice chuckled.

And then a hand struck her face. Hard.

Rin yelled in protest.

"Ah, good. You're awake," The voice said. It was a deep, voice, laced with cruelty and malicious intent.

Rin opened her eyes and glared at the man.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" She shouldn't have spoken, she knew, but she couldn't help it. She was terrified, and speaking out in defiance gave her even an imagined amount of control.

He laughed, and struck her again.

The sound of her scream was muffled by his hand over her mouth. "My name is of no importance to you, little girl. But you will serve me, and my purpose. For now, you will remain here, because your body needs time to… adjust." She could hear the sick, twisted smile in his voice, and it would have stopped her heart with fear if it wasn't beating so damn fast.

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

His hand trailed down her neck, collarbone, and chest. Rin tried to squirm away from his touch, but she could not move. His hand stopped at her chest, above her breast. Right over her heart.

_Ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump! Ba-bump ba-bump!_

She felt a spike of his chakra pierce her heart. A tremor of energy surged through her, prompting the liquid fire of her own chakra to consume her again. She threw her head back and screamed as she was lit aflame from within. Her world turned white with agony.

The last thing Rin heard was the sound of laughing.


	2. Rin's Capture Arc - 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kakashi searches for his missing teammate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Kakashi POV.

**Human**

**Rin's Capture Arc**

**Chapter 1**

**Kakashi**

* * *

Kakashi Hatake was exhausted. Exhaustion was probably putting it mildly, he considered, but it was a decent enough descriptor of his current status. The fatigue he felt carried all the way through to his bones, but that did not mean he had the luxury of resting. His mission had become a disastrous nightmare, a repeat of the single worst day of his life, and it was more urgent that he continue now than ever.

The Third Ninja war was drawing to a close, ninja from nations all across the world were being recalled as hostilities wound down, and it was common to see them past the borders of the countries they had been aggressors in. Rin and Kakashi had been sent out as scouts, to ensure their eastern border was secure. A routine patrol for seasoned ninja. It should have been painfully simple and dull.

It should have been easy.

The mission had gone terribly wrong, of course, as was the long standing tradition of all missions assigned to squad seven. Manpower was short, so Rin and Kakashi had been trusted to handle the mission as a pair instead of a full squad of four. The first day had been by the book, they had swept a large sector of the border leading to the ocean, which was the closest border the Land of Fire shared with the Land of Water. They spent the day looking for any stragglers needing to return to their homeland.

Rin and Kakashi were ninja of Konohagakure no Sato, The Village Hidden in the Leaves, which was the central source of military power in the Land of Fire. And while it was _technically_ true that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire was the chief authority in the country, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village (Konoha as it was colloquially called), the Hokage, was the one truly in control of the fate of the nation.

In much the same fashion, the Land of Water had a Daimyo, but it was a nation controlled in all but name by Kirigakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Mist. Most countries had hidden villages, but only the five most powerful were granted leaders called Kage.

The Third Ninja War had involved them all.

The Land of Fire was central on the continent, and shared borders with many nations. However, it was the island nation of the Land of Water that his superiors were most concerned with. The war had raged for years, but with the massive victories won by the Leaf Village in recent months, the fighting was nearly done. Other nations had bowed out of the hostilities, and peacetime treaties, ceasefires, and armistices were being drafted. The Mist Village was the last hold out of hostile nations.

And it had been a mission to seek out any potential outposts or hidden bases that the Mist ninja may choose to keep up and running. Kakashi should have returned home with Rin unscathed and triumphant, but that was not the case.

Rin had not come back from her predetermined scouting route at the end of the second day. And Kakashi had been searching for her trail ever since. That had been three days ago. When he could turn up no sign of Rin, Kakashi employed the ninja art of summoning to help find her.

Summoning was a rare art, where a ninja could summon chakra touched animals to help them. Chakra touched animals could mould chakra, same as humans. They could learn speech, same as humans. And they had their own societies, same as humans.

Kakashi had been given the honor of signing a contract, in blood, to summon Ninken – Ninja Dogs. It was dead useful in tracking situations. The leader of the pack, Pakkun, and the rest of the dogs Kakashi could summon, had sniffed out Rin's trail in no time at all.

Over the course of their pursuit of Rin's captors, Kakashi pieced together that no fewer than eight enemy combatants had been involved. He didn't like his odds against eight enemy ninja. But he sure as hell wasn't going to abandon Rin.

Their trail ended at the end of the tree line. There were several massive boulders between the trees and the ocean. Kakashi could see the almost imperceptible cave entrance before him. It was well hidden. He likely would have overlooked it if he had not been looking for it. But it did confirm that there was, in fact, a hidden enemy outpost.

Mission parameters stated that he was to send word back to Konoha and wait for reinforcements. That was not an option. Rin was in danger now. And so he would go in to the enemy base alone. But he did need to get word back to Konoha.

He turned to Pakkun. "I need you to go back to the village. Whichever of you can run the farthest the fastest. Get word to the mission desk, the Hokage, the Jonin Commander, anyone. Rin has been captured and has been taken to the edge of the Land of Fire. At least eight hostiles. I am infiltrating to gather intelligence. Will only engage if necessary, primary objective is to exfiltrate Rin."

Pakkun bobbed his head, and turned to leave.

"One more thing," Kakashi said. "Minato-sensei can get to us the fastest."

"I'll try to find him," Pakkun said. And then the dogs were dashing through the trees. It was now up to him, exhausted though he was, to rescue his teammate.

Kakashi turned his attention back to the cave mouth. There were no visible signs that anyone had noticed his use of jutsu. But perhaps there were signs not visible to the naked eye. Kakashi lifted his hand to the headband that adorned his forehead and marked him as a ninja of the Leaf Village.

Kakashi wore his headband sideways, so that it covered his left eye. He lifted it now, and uncovered his greatest ninja tool, a Sharingan eye that had been a final gift from a dying friend. It gave him the ability to see chakra, and break through any genjutsu. There was more to the eye than that, much more, but in this moment, that was its purpose.

There was nothing. No guards on the outside. They were gambling on nobody finding the place at all. Kakashi wagered there would be lookouts posted just within the entrance that would have to be dispatched with haste.

He covered the eye once again. Best not to waste precious chakra keeping the Sharingan in use, especially because he was already sleep deprived and low on energy.

Steeling himself, Kakashi checked his surroundings for any other hostile ninja before heading inside.

It was quiet, eerily so, and Kakashi found no traps or lookouts at the entrance as he suspected. In fact, there was nothing to suggest this was an enemy hideout at all. Not until the cave opened up and split down two paths was there anything unnatural at all.

Standing before the forks were two ninja, wearing the headbands of Kirigakure. All of his suspicions were confirmed, hostile ninja were still in the area, this was their hideout after all, and they had taken his teammate hostage.

At a glance, Kakashi could see that the guards were bored, and barely on alert. Clearly they did not think anyone was coming for Rin. Did they assume she had been a lone scout? Such assumptions got people killed on the battlefield, and it would cost these guards their lives.

From his place in the shadows of the cavern, Kakashi drew his tanto and surged forward. Sped up by chakra and years of training to kill with brutal efficiency.

It was over in seconds. The first guard fell to the ground with only the sound of his blood dripping onto the rocks, and in the moment the second guard noticed his comrade's death, he, too, was cut down where he stood.

He wiped the blood from his kills on the second man's clothes, and returned his tanto to its sheath. After looking down the two tunnels to be sure nobody had been alerted, he raised his hands and formed a quick series of hand signs. He felt his chakra rise up from within him once again, and he pushed it to the ground. Seconds later the bodies of the two fallen ninja had been pulled into the earth.

Not wanting to wait any longer than necessary, Kakashi set off down the left tunnel in search of his teammate.

Kakashi found himself at a dead end almost immediately, so he backtracked and headed down the second tunnel, which also dead ended. Kakashi frowned, was it a genjutsu? He lifted the headband from his left eye once more.

Months ago, when his life had been much simpler, Kakashi had been part of a three man squad. Rin, of course, had been a teammate, but so had a boy named Obito Uchiha. During the battle of Kannabi Bridge, which was the greatest victory scored by the Leaf Village during the Third Ninja War, Obito had died and Kakashi had lost an eye. And a friend.

As a parting gift, Obito had given Kakashi his eye, and the eyes of an Uchiha were powerful things, as the Uchiha eyes possessed the Sharingan.

The walls in front of him were solid stone, which meant that it wasn't a genjutsu, or that the first path had been the one blocked by illusion. Kakashi cursed internally and returned to the first tunnel, and there he saw the illusion. Designed to look like a jagged, but otherwise solid, wall. The illusion gave way at the faintest push of Kakashi's chakra.

Kakashi found himself in a narrow corridor, no doubt carved by earth element ninjutsu. Doors lined the walls, and Kakashi set about checking each room in search of his comrade. A storage room, an empty kitchen, three rooms outfitted as sleeping quarters, and no sign of Rin.

The corridor turned up ahead, and Kakashi pushed up against the right hand wall, creeping forward as slowly as his feet would take him, and staying hidden within the shadows.

Around the corner, there was another, even longer hall, and at the far end, Kakashi observed that there were two more passageways. This compound was far larger than Kakashi had hoped. If a small team of enemy ninja had taken Rin captive, then the amount of hostiles that could be housed here was well over fifty.

Kakashi was good, but he doubted he could kill fifty enemy ninja by himself while in unfamiliar territory behind enemy lines. The only choice was stealth.

He checked the next five doors he came across. They were empty rooms that could be used for storage. Either the supplies had run out or they had been moved, it didn't matter.

He came to the end of the hall. _Right or left?_

Knowing that hesitation was suicide and also the death of Rin, he chose left.

Four feet before him, a door opened and Kakashi flattened himself against the wall, and used a simple genjutsu to encourage nobody to notice him.

Three men exited the room. Two in standard mist village mission gear, and a third man with a strange mask.

"You have your orders," the masked man said. "Notify me when the prisoner wakes, and continue to monitor for changes."

They walked past Kakashi, who was still as the grave. He hadn't breathed since the door opened.

And then the masked man stopped and glanced behind him, at Kakashi, and then down the hall. Kakashi had to remember to keep his breathing even. Slow, quiet, deep. It didn't work nearly as well as he wanted, so Kakashi settled for holding his breath.

"Something wrong, sir?" One of the ninja asked the masked man.

The masked man said nothing for several tense moments, observing the seemingly empty hall behind him. Eventually, he said, "It's nothing."

And then they were gone.

After a moment, Kakashi dared to breathe, and then he dropped his genjutsu and wrenched open the door the three mist ninja had just used. His hands were trembling from nerves and tiredness.

There was a single small light hanging from the ceiling of this room, swaying ever so slightly and casting its dim light almost as far as the walls. In the center of the room was Rin, strapped to a table and unmoving, wearing what was left of her mission gear. She looked terrible. Hell, she looked dead.

He rushed to her, gently pressing a hand to her neck and feeling for a pulse. She was alive! It took him only seconds to free her from her bindings, and pull her into an upright position. Kakashi gave her a once over, holding her up with one arm.

"Rin," Kakashi whispered, patting her cheek to wake her. "Rin, wake up."

Her eyes were open, but unseeing, and her mouth was agape. Kakashi put a finger to her forehead and pulsed his chakra once to dispel genjutsu, but nothing happened.

Kakashi cursed under his breath. Not a genjutsu, then. Rin had been tortured into semi-consciousness. Rage boiled up from the pit of his stomach, and he took several deep breaths to calm himself. He needed to keep as clear a head as possible if he was going to get her out of this alive.

He pulled her forward to the edge of the table. He could assess more later, now was the time to get her out of this hellhole. He'd just carry her out of the base, and get her as far away as possible. Then he would deal with her trance-like state.

Kakashi wedged himself into a position to hoist her onto his back and leaned against the edge of the surgical table while he dug into his pockets for a bit of wire or string. Anything to keep Rin secure while he made a mad dash to the exit.

Rin lulled forward, but grunted groggily. Her weight shifted as she regained consciousness. Rin blinked once, then twice, she smiled when she saw him.

"Ka...shi…" Rin slurred.

And then her eyes snapped open, her expression flashing instantly to one of terror.

"You can't be here!" Rin almost yelled.

"Shh!" Kakashi said, head snapping to the door even as he spun to face her. He put a finger to her lips. Nobody could know he was here, that Rin was freed from her detainment, that they were escaping.

"You have to go. They did something—it's a trap." Rin said desperately, pushing against his grip and trying to back away from the door.

"I figured that," Kakashi said, maintaining his grip. "We gotta go, trap or not. Come on." Rin was surprisingly weak, considering it had only been a few days since he'd seen her. Whatever they'd done had drained most of her strength. He won their tug of war easily, and Rin reluctantly followed behind him.

"Kakashi, please listen. I can't go with you. They did something to me," Rin protested.

"Follow close behind me, and stay quiet," Kakashi said, ignoring her. "We're only going to get one shot at this and I don't know how many more mist ninja are in this base."

Rin looked conflicted, but nodded once solemnly.

Kakashi cracked the door open, glanced left, then right. The hallway was empty. He took one deep breath and dashed out into the hall, moving full pelt down the hall, taking care to muffle the sound of both his and Rin's footsteps with his chakra.

They made it to the first turn, Kakashi hugged the corner and Rin followed behind him. The second turn, and there was a mist ninja walking down the hall with his back to them. He didn't hear them coming.

The tanto slid from its sheath on Kakashi's back, and Kakashi impaled the man from behind, just as he was turning to face them. He gurgled quietly, and Kakashi clamped a hand over his mouth as he lowered the mist ninja to the ground. They ran past the dying man without so much as a second thought.

Back at the fork in the cave entrance, Kakashi led them down the long tunnel and outside, the light was blinding and the air was clean and fresh. He wanted to whoop for joy, to scream from the rooftops that they were free. If they could make the tree line before pursuit began, they'd be safe. Then he could carry Rin the rest of the way home.

A sound from behind him crushed his fantasy of an easy escape.

His world became a tangle of limbs and fists as his eyes adjusted to the light of the outside world. He went down to his knees after a particularly painful strike to the back of his head. A mist ninja had him in a vice grip, and one of Kakashi's arms was pinned uncomfortably behind his back.

Kakashi's tanto fell to the dirt. He was pinned and disarmed. This was bad. Very, very bad.

A fist slammed into the side of his head and Kakashi saw stars. Kakashi would have staggered from his half kneeling position, but he lacked the freedom to move away from the Mist ninja's grip.

"Rin! Keep going! I'll catch up with you." It wasn't a request, it was an order. But it didn't come out very forcefully. Two blows to the head left Kakashi dazed. He probably had a concussion, but that could wait, he figured.

Rin hesitated, but did not move forward to fight. Eventually, she ran into the tree line and out of sight, leaving Kakashi to deal with the mist ninja.

Kakashi gathered his chakra and used to to propel himself both up and forward.

The imbalance of weight sent Kakashi and his assailant tumbling to the ground and Kakashi rolled left, breaking the grip of the mist ninja who had grappled him.

The ninja rolled to a crouch at the same time, and grabbed Kakashi's tanto.

Kakashi drew a kunai from the pouch on his leg, spinning around his finger and flipping it into his palm. He flexed his grip experimentally, and the fight resumed. They rushed together, steel met steel. There was a metallic clang, sparks flew, and then they were past each other. Kakashi whirled around, made a hand seal, and a mirror image of Kakashi phased into existence.

The clone jutsu was a simple enough technique that existed somewhere between ninjutsu and genjutsu. It made a mirror image of the ninja who created it, but was neither solid nor threatening. It was just a trick to be used to gain an advantage.

Much like Kakashi planned to do now.

They ran towards each other again, Kakashi made another hand seal, and then another.

There was another shimmering of the clone jutsu, and the smallest poof of smoke, one you'd have to really be looking for in order to see.

When they were about to meet in melee, the mist ninja leapt and spun, reaching out with foot and tanto, to hit both copies of Kakashi at the same time. A valiant attempt to see through the trick.

But the mist ninja did not see through enough. Tanto and foot passed harmlessly through both Kakashi's as they faded from existence, and the mist ninja, who had been expecting solid contact, landed awkwardly.

It was all the opening the real Kakashi needed.

Kakashi burst from a nearby tree, where he had moved by use of the substitution jutsu, and cut the mist ninja's throat with his kunai.

As the man fell, Kakashi grabbed his tanto, returned the kunai to it's holster, and then leapt to the trees after Rin. No doubt the pursuit would begin immediately.


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Which Kakashi and Rin flee for their lives.

**Human**

**Rin's Capture Arc**

**Chapter 2**

**Kakashi**

* * *

_Breathe_ , he told himself. _Just breathe, that's the key._

Mist ninja had pursued them from the cave mouth at once, and Kakashi had discovered that Rin had not taken to the trees. He ran beside her slow, staggering gait.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked. "We are being pursued by a platoon of enemy ninja and you're running on the ground. Without chakra. We are ninja of the Leaf, we have an advantage in the trees."

Rin glared at him. "I told you," she panted out, "I can't do anything. They did something to me. I can't use my chakra."

"Can't use your- why didn't you say something?" Kakashi asked.

"I tried! You wouldn't listen." Rin stumbled and nearly ran headlong into a tree.

Kakashi pivoted and steadied her. "You're going to be okay. Keep running, I'll buy us time."

He turned and headed back towards their pursuers, slapping explosive notes on tree trunks as he went.

With ten remote detonated bombs in place, Kakashi changed direction and leapt for the trees.

Less than a minute later, Kakashi saw two Mist ninja break from the tree line. He pulsed his chakra, turned, and ran back towards Rin.

The explosion shook the trees, birds shot into the sky.

There was precious little time. Kakashi didn't dare stop to see if their pursuers were dead. He ran until his lungs burned and his legs felt like they would give out.

Three days. Three days with no rest. Kakashi was spent. He stopped running, and leaned against a tree, drinking in deep, gasping breaths.

Five minutes rest he could spare.

Except… there were more pursuers. Kakashi heard them before he saw them, and slipped into the shadows that the tree branches provided him.

He dug a hand into a provisions ouch, and dug out a small pill. It was a food pill, designed to stimulate the body into producing more chakra. Use in situations like this almost always resulted in chakra exhaustion and hospital visits, but Kakashi needed more energy if he was going to fight.

He swallowed the pill, and shot off after Rin.

As his body produced more energy, his speed increased and he caught up to Rin in a matter of moments.

She looked dead on her feet, face red and skin clammy. She was gasping for a breath that would jot fill her lungs, and she was clutching at a stitch in her side.

"They're still in pursuit," Kakashi said.

Rin didn't answer, choosing instead to focus on breathing and keeping her feet moving.

He kept pace with her and pulled a ration bar from a pocket, then he unhooked his canteen from his belt loop.

"Stop. Catch your breath. Eat and drink. I'll slow them with a genjutsu. It will buy you maybe ten minutes to rest."

Rin took two more feeble steps, and then fell to her knees, and wretched. Bike spattered the forest floor. Kakashi placed the food and drink at her side.

He moved fifteen paces away, and began weaving the hand seals for his illusion. A simple visual distortion that would make it appear that their trail went off in a different direction. The wider the area of effect, the more chakra it would cost him, but the longer it would buy them.

He weighed his options for the briefest moment before pumping as much chakra as he could into the genjutsu.

He expanded the range until he was sweating from the exertion. His strength had never been in his chakra capacity, and the borrowed energy from the food pill was faster to flicker out.

He fell back, panting. He had two more pills. If he took them both he would end up in a coma, but if this kept up he likely would have no choice. He hoped Pakkun was making record time back to the village. If Pakkun had been held up... Kakashi didn't want to think about it.

His eyes were so heavy...

He fought against unconsciousness as his body screamed that it needed rest. Instead, he popped another food pill into his mouth and swallowed it down.

Chakra flared within him once again. He wondered if Rin should have one, but reasoned that in her current state of mind, it was not a good idea.

"Can you keep walking?" Kakashi asked Rin.

"Yeah," She said. She sounded so small. So defeated

"Let's get a move on," Kakashi said.

He wanted to sit, to sleep, to do anything but run.

They had to keep going, Kakashi told himself. Rest was a death sentence. It became a mantra in his mind. _Keep running. Keep running. Keep running._

If the ninja from The Village Hidden in the Mist caught up to them, then they were done for. He had used far too much chakra to risk pitched battle while operating on food pills. Flight was their only option, and even then there was the very real possibility of them being overcome before they were safely in Konoha.

Their pace was almost civilian.

Deep down, Kakashi knew the mist ninja would catch them, and he would have to fight soon. He was ready to die to protect Rin, who was in no position to fight right now. If he was being honest with himself, neither was he. Their mission was nothing short of a disaster, even if they had discovered an enemy outpost.

They kept up their slow pace for fifteen minutes.

For thirty minutes.

An hour.

Two.

He heard the whistling of the air before he sensed danger, and barely managed to get out of the way of a barrage of shuriken.

"Hurry!" Kakashi ordered. He pivoted around, lifting the headband from over his left eye as he did so. Using the Sharingan to scan behind them quickly. He could see the chakra of their pursuers closing fast. 'Dammit, they're going to catch us. We aren't able to move fast enough like this. One last fight, then. "Rin! They're going to catch us! You keep going and I'll buy you as much time as I can. Leaf ninja should find you soon. I sent Pakkun to find Minato-sensei. He'll get you home."

Rin slid to a halt, defiantly facing Kakashi. "I already told you," she said, gasping for breath. "I can't go back to the village. They did something to me. I'll hurt someone."

Kakashi grimaced. "No. You won't. No matter what, you won't. I believe in your strength."

"You aren't listening!" Rin shouted.

"I heard you," Kakashi said, sparing her a brief glance. "But I know you, Rin. You're kind and gentle, and most importantly you're loyal to the Leaf Village. You won't hurt them."

Rin shook her head, blinking back tears. "What if I do? We can't take that risk, Kakashi. You have to kill me or give me back, and you have to do it now!"

"Never!" He declared.

Before Kakashi or Rin had time to argue any further, one of the Mist ninja was upon them. Kakshi slid his tango from its sheath. With blinding speed, Kakashi parried the kunai that cascaded from above them. When the falling projectiles ceased, Kakashi turned to Rin once more. "We don't have time to fight about this, Rin. I promised Obito that I would protect you. And what's more than that, I couldn't bear it if you were hurt."

"Kakashi," Rin whispered, a sad smile ghosting across her features. He thought that maybe, just maybe, she looked determined.

"If you're so worried that you'll hurt someone, tell Minato-sensei before you reach the walls of the village." Kakashi turned away from her now, and was ready to face the mist ninja. "Rin, you have to go now. I promise that I will catch up to you."

He heard her retreating footsteps, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Things had definitely not gone according to plan, and Kakashi could not help but feel that today was much like the disastrous battle near the Kannabi Bridge. The same battle that had claimed the life of his teammate Obito. The same battle that was considered the Leaf Village's greatest military victory during the last war. However, he was determined not to make the same mistake he had made during that mission.

Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!

Nobody would die today.

Four pursuing shinobi were upon him now, and Kakashi watched them each in turn as they surrounded him. This fight had to end quickly, for both his sake and Rin's.

"Kill him, quick. Then we go after the girl." One of the Mist shinobi said.

So that's their leader, Kakashi thought. I'll make sure he doesn't survive long enough to reorganize the pursuit.

Two of the Mist ninja closed with Kakashi, each wielding a katana. Three strokes and three parries later, Kakashi was retreating slightly to reassess the battle. They were skilled with kenjutsu, that much was very clear, but Kakashi had the advantage of the Sharingan. The combatants rushed forward again, and the steel of katanas flashed in the afternoon sun.

Kakashi ducked and blocked each of their cuts with his tanto. He pulled a kunai into his offhand. An extra blade for defending himself, or for attacking if he had the chance.

_If this drags on, they'll overpower me. I'm not even close to one-hundred percent._

Kakashi's thoughts were cut short by another attack, this time from all four of the Mist Shinobi.

Four blades impaled the silver haired Jōnin before he could react. Kakashi slumped to the ground weakly, broken and bleeding. A chuckle of amusement passed between the mist ninja. "How pathetic," the leader sneered.

"Pathetic, am I?" Kakashi asked from directly behind the leader of the mist ninja. "If I'm pathetic, you must be something much worse than that." With that, Kakashi drove his kunai into the leader's heart. The mist ninja slumped to the ground, blood pooling around him. That's the leader down. If I can disengage quickly, Rin and I might have a chance to gain enough distance to shake their pursuit.

"What!?" One of the other attackers exclaimed.

"How!?" Demanded another.

Kakashi smiled at them underneath his mask. "I used the substitution technique. It's a ninja's bread and butter in a fight where he is outnumbered." He indicated the log that had been impaled in his stead. "I'm just surprised you fell for my trick so easily. Jōnin level ninja are supposed to be the shinobi elite. But you aren't at that level, are you?"

"We'll show you!" the Mist ninja who had refrained from speaking before roared. Kakashi's attacker raised his katana and darted forward. They exchanged a flurry of blows, Kakashi using the advantage the Sharingan gave him to block his strikes before they were fully executed. His preemptive counter attacks only served to make the mist ninja more angry. Kakashi's blocks stayed true even as the attacks became more erratic and less disciplined. Kakashi slipped inside his enemy's guard.

The mist ninja backed away after Kakashi landed a grazing blow, and the two circled each other before leaping forward once more. Kakashi user scored a killing blow against the mist ninja, successfully getting within his guard after a particularly wild strike. The second dispatched Mist shinobi slumped to the ground like the first, just as lifeless as his commander. That leaves two.

Kakashi turned to the remaining two ninja. There will be more coming to back them up soon. _I have to end this quickly, or disengage them entirely._

Kakashi didn't have time to deliberate, however. The mist ninja, sensing that closing with Kakashi in melee combat was likely to prove futile, began forming hand seals for a ninjutsu attack. Glancing between the two, Kakashi realized that they were going to use different techniques. _Clever. I can't copy both attacks at the same time. I'll have to come up with something else._

"Water Style!" Both Mist shinobi declared.

"Gunshot!"

"Tearing Torrent."

The water jutsu projectiles fired towards him closed quickly. Kakashi grimaced. Their jutsu were closing fast, and at this short range he'd be unable to dodge them without using ninjutsu of his own. Which was doable, but he was already so exhausted that using a technique was likely suicidal at this point.

With a speed far greater than his adversaries, Kakashi's hands blurred for a moment, as he focused his chakra for a jutsu of his own. "Earth Style: Hiding Like a Mole Technique." Kakashi slipped beneath the dirt road just before the onslaught from the mist ninja reached him.

 _That was too_ close.

Water rushed over the path, flooding the area, impacting trees, splintering wood, and knocking several large boulders aside. The flooded area drained slowly, and the rampant destruction caused by the onslaught of water based projectiles became apparent.

"He's gone," one of the Mist Shinobi declared.

"We killed him?" the other asked.

"I don't think so," the first replied. "But it looks like we've eliminated him for now."

A hand shot up from beneath the two mist ninja, grabbing one of them by the ankle. They both let out less than masculine shouts of surprise at the sight of a disembodied arm rising from the earth. "Eliminate me?" Kakashi mocked as he rose from the ground, and pulled the mist ninja under the earth in one movement. "Hardly. You were firing those attacks like blind and deaf Genin."

With a shout of anger, the still standing Mist shinobi swung his katana wildly at Kakashi, who leapt away from the attack. Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the mist ninja. "I think it's time we end this." He made a set of hand seals and clapped his left hand on his right forearm. "Chidori!"

A visible wave of chakra filled the newly created clearing. Bolts of electricity shot from the swirling energy gathering in Kakashi's hand, growing more frequent and powerful by the second. The mist ninja backed away, eyes wide with fear, looking for an escape. Sensing his enemy's desire to flee, Kakashi chuckled darkly. "There's no place for you to run. This ends now!"

Kakashi ran forward, right hand cocked back in preparation to strike. It's an all or nothing strike. If I don't end this fight now, I'm done for. I won't have enough chakra for another attack.

From his right there was movement, and then Kakashi watched in horror as Rin bounded into his line of attack, successfully placing herself between Kakashi and the mist ninja. She had her eyes closed and her arms spread wide, as if she were welcoming death. Kakashi was moving too fast, he was too close.

"Rin!"

_No. No! No! No! No!_

Kakashi dispersed the chakra he'd gathered for his finishing blow and twisted his upper body as fast as he could. The result was that his still dissipating Chidori grazed her right arm and his back slammed into her torso, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a painful heap of flailing limbs and dust.

He was completely drained, but the adrenaline from the battle kept him awake. He glowered at Rin.

If looks could kill...

"Jumping in front of me like that and attempting to use my attack to kill yourself? I can't believe you! What the hell were you thinking?" Kakashi demanded as he regained his footing, spinning around and ready to defend against an oncoming attack. The Mist ninja, however, had taken their chance at Rin's interference and fled. Kakashi relaxed slightly and took in Rin's bedraggled appearance. His Chidori had done significant damage to her arm, despite the grazing blow, and it hung loosely at her side, dripping blood onto the dirt.

Kakashi sheathed his tanto, holstered his kunai, covered his Sharingan, and tried to control his shivering. It was exhaustion from this mission, it was anger at Rin, it was fear that they would die, regret that he'd nearly killed her.

"I can't go back to the village as I am now." Her eyes were full of unshed tears.

Kakashi glared at her, angry and confused and hurt all at once. "So you would use me to end your own life, without any thought as to how that would make me feel? Why are you so ready to give up? You know as well as I do that Sensei will be able to help you. Hell, Rin, I told you as much."

She lowered her head. "It doesn't matter. He can't undo what was done to me. I'm a monster now. The masked man said so himself. And only a monster could endure so much pain."

Pain? What pain? What exactly had they done to her?

Kakashi's anger blunted in an instant. He took three shaky steps toward her, so that they were inches apart, and took her still good hand in his. He traced a gentle circle over the back of her hand with his thumb.

"No, you're not. No matter what has happened, you are no monster. Minato-sensei can, and will, help you. All we have to do is evade our pursuers for a little while longer. Once we cross into frequently patrolled territory, their continued pursuit would guarantee their deaths. Rin, I need you to do this with me. Please. Let's find a solution that isn't your death."

She raised her head, and for a long time she said nothing, staring at him with teary eyes and a pained expression. Eventually, she spoke. "If I go with you, you have to promise me that I won't go within ten miles of the village until Minato-sensei finds out why I feel like my whole body is on fire when I use chakra."

Kakashi nodded, relieved that she was at least willing to try. "Of course. I can promise you that. Now let's get a move on. There's a lot of ground to cover and I don't doubt that those Mist ninja will be back for us once they regroup with their allies." Rin nodded, and gave him a thumbs up, but the accompanying smile did not reach her eyes. Kakashi was unsure if anything he could say would comfort her at this point. That was something Obito had always been better at than him, and he wished dearly that their teammate was still with them now.

But Obito could never be with them again. A sorrow they both had to bear. In his stead, Kakashi vowed to keep Rin safe. And now she was in more need than ever before. Truthfully, Kakashi was terrified that he'd fail, especially considering how exhausted he already was.

Together they set off once again towards Konoha, staggering along as fast as they could. It wasn't an impressive look. Kakashi was exhausted and Rin was both injured and mentally drained. It would have to do, of course. Any faster and they'd both inevitably collapse and wind up dead.

They kept it up as long as they could.

Which was longer than he thought.

They had been on the run together for half a day. It was pitch dark, and Kakashi kept crashing through thorny bushes. He could barely keep his eyes open.

"We need to stop," Kakashi said, slowing his pace and coming to a stop against a tree.

Rin shook her head and stepped past him. "No."

Kakashi grunted and caught her good hand. "Both of us are exhausted. Beyond exhausted.. If we push ourselves any more we could end up past saving. I've exhausted my chakra on two food pills today. Any more jutsu from me and I'm gambling with my life."

"And if we stop those ninja from the Mist village might catch us. We're in no condition to fight them." Rin's voice cracked, thick with emotion. She was right. They weren't going to elude them forever. He was spent, she was… well Kakashi didn't know what was wrong with Rin.

It was probably worse than exhausted.

"I told you earlier that Pakkun is heading back to the village. Sensei doesn't need travel time. Once he knows we're in trouble, we'll be safe.

"When was that?" Asked Rin.

"Maybe six, seven hours ago," Kakashi said. "I infiltrated the base before midday, and we have been on the run since. But I spent days tracking you, so we are at least a full day from Konoha."

"We have to survive out here for another eighteen hours?" Rin said. "We're going to die!"

Kakashi shrugged. "We may encounter those Mist ninja again, but I don't think we will die. For now, we should find a place to hide - and to rest."

Rin spun in a circle, examining their immediate surroundings in the darkness. "Where? There isn't anywhere to hide here."

"No," Kakashi agreed. "We'll have to keep looming. But that should be the objective. If we can find a defensible spot, we may be able to hold for a few hours of rest."

"Let's go, then," Rin said gravely.

The farther they went in search of shelter, the harder Kakashi found it to stay upright and moving. His eyes were so heavy. It would be so easy to just drift off to sleep. . .

He was on his knees, the ground looked so comfortable.

Kakashi knew he was down for the count. He tried to get to his feet, but it was no good. Instead, he settled for calling out to his teammate before unconsciousness took him

_Rin..._


	4. Chapter 4

**Human**

**Rin's Capture Arc**

**Chapter 3**

**Rin**

* * *

It hurt to walk. It hurt to breathe. Hell, it even hurt to blink the sweat from her eyes.

She had never so much as exercised without chakra before today, and she had pushed herself far beyond any limit she thought she had.

What was more, she was probably going to pass out from blood loss before they got back to Konoha. What had she been thinking, jumping in front of Kakashi's Chidori? She was certifiable.

He was probably so mad at her. He'd risked everything to get her out of there and she'd repaid him by attempting suicide. With his jutsu.

On the bright side, the clarity brought on by the pain of having her arm decimated allowed her to think.

She considered that she may have been under a genjutsu before she'd been hit with the Chidori, but she would never know for certain.

Rin vowed to make it up to Kakashi somehow. What she had attempted wasn't fair to him. Or to herself.

Or Obito.

"Rin," Kakashi rasped from behind her. She stopped moving, back ramrod straight. This was it, he was going to lay into her for being a thoughtless bitch. She turned around in the darkness just in time to see her teammate fall face first to the ground.

"Kakashi!" Rin said, panic stricken

Kakashi was not allowed to faint right now. Rin was in no condition whatsoever to fight.

She rushed to his side and rolled him to his back. He was breathing, but it was faint, and his pulse was not strong. "You can't faint on me Kakashi. I need you. I can't do this without you."

She tried to fight back tears in her panic at being alone in her situation. She took deep breaths and looked around for any signs of hostile action. When nothing happened immediately, Rin focused again on Kakashi.

They had at least a little time.

"Please wake up, Kakashi. I can't exactly fight right now. My chakra is… my chakra is broken." Once she started, she found she could not stop A floodgate of confession had opened. She started babbling as she knelt over her comrade.

"I want to thank you properly for keeping me safe. I thought I was going to die every moment I was held captive. The man in charge of those ninja, he… he… tortured me. Pain I didn't know was possible, Kakashi. And then when you rescued me, I knew in my heart that the only way to keep you safe was to die. But that isn't true. We can fix this. We can go home and… and… and live." Her tears were falling freely now, dripping with soft pat-pat-pats onto his Chunin vest.

"I'm so sorry I jumped in front of your Chidori. I was out of my head. It was stupid and so, so cruel." Rin put her forehead on Kakashi's chest. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know it's my fault you're tired. If I was stronger, I wouldn't have been captured. I'll work harder, okay? Please wake up. Please…"

She cried until she was thirsty and no more tears would fall. She took long, deep breaths, and forced herself to count down from ten.

10…

She needed to secure a location while they rested.

9…

That would require finding somewhere even remotely defensible.

8…

She had to do this without using any chakra.

7…

And with one arm.

6…

Her mission gear was gone, likely back at the Mist hideout.

5…

She could go through Kakashi's things, and put together a plan.

4…

They couldn't risk a fire. Not without genjutsu to hide it.

3…

She was cold, but they could cuddle for warmth if the temperature fell any lower.

2…

She needed to move Kakashi so that he was hidden.

1…

She could do this.

Rin raised her head, breathing steady and even, and deep. She began emptying Kakashi's mission gear and pockets, taking stock of what supplies she had available to her. Kakashi's tanto would be useful for cutting branches. It was infinitely sharper than a kunai. Kakashi also had smoke bombs, ninja wire, and a handful of shuriken. He had a small scroll on him, contained within were key things like a tent, sleeping bag, medicine, and foodstuffs. Unfortunately, Rin could not hope to access those without use of her chakra. And she didn't dare try to use her chakra again, not after her attempt while in captivity.

First thing's first, Rin thought, I need to clean up my arm, make sure it doesn't get infected.

Rin clipped Kakashi's water canteen to her belt, and grabbed Kakashi's tanto.

With Kakashi's tanto in hand, she set off to find a beehive. It took her almost an hour in the dark, but she did eventually spot one. She found some dried twigs on the ground, and piled them up beneath the hive. Then she found some larger branches to use as fuel. She found some supple and young branches from nearby trees, and set those aside as well.

Then she set about starting the kindling she'd collected. She lined them with the larger branches, and set the green leaves and young branches atop them. The resulting smoke would drive the bees out of the hive, and then she would have access to the honey.

While she waited, Rin tore the sleeve off of her bad arm, removed her wrap, and tried to make a sling. It was frustrating with one hand. By the time she had something even remotely serviceable, the bees were swarming around the smoke, and Rin cut open the hive.

There was a lot of honey. _Thank god_ , Rin thought.

She took Kakashi's canteen, and poured the water over her bloodied arm, gently rinsing the dried blood and dirt away. Rin put the tanto between her teeth. Then reached into the hive and scooped out a handful of honey. She grimaced and bit down. This was going to hurt. A lot.

She slathered the wound with honey. It burned like holy hellfire. She screamed into the tanto, biting even harder. When her arm was slathered in honey, Rin forced her arm into the makeshift sling.

Everything was sticky, but the Honey would prevent infection, and give her arm time to stop bleeding. Satisfied with her work, she stomped out the fire. Leaving it any longer was asking to be found.

Rin returned to Kakashi and assessed her situation once more. With her wound temporarily treated, she was safe to move without blood loss or risk of infection. She needed a place to work from.

She moved all of Kakashi's accessible gear to the base of a large, nearby tree, then took Kakashi's right hand in her good one, and dragged him into a nearby cluster of bushes. She grabbed his tanto from the pile at the base of the tree, and hacked off a few low branches that had thick leaves. It was awkward, but after a minute of rearranging the branches, Kakashi was hidden from anyone who did not know he was there.

She then took a lap around the area where Kakashi was. Roughly fifteen minutes in every direction. There were no positions that were any more defensible than where Kakashi already was. And considering there was no way in hell she could move him any major distance it would have to do.

Once she was at Kakashi's side again, she checked him over once more. No external injuries. She hoped he would wake soon. The likelihood she would survive a confrontation with an enemy combatant was non existent.

Rin took up the tanto again and hacked down several more branches, doing her best to create a small shelter for her teammate. Then she started to set a perimeter for defense. Rin tied wire traps with what kunai and shuriken Kakashi had. She sharpened tree branches and set those with wire when she ran out of steel. Next were the smoke bombs, set to go off as a warning and to obscure the other traps.

When she had rigged up as much as she could with one hand, slow going though it had been, Rin wiped her brow and started covering her tracks. Leaving no signs that she had booby trapped the area. It took forever. By the time her handiwork was all but invisible, the sun was rising.

But she knew she could not afford to rest. If she stopped moving she would fall asleep, and Rin was afraid that sleeping would result in both their deaths.

Instead, Rin began laying false trails in varying directions. A half hour walk in one direction, followed by careful backtracking. Rinse and repeat ad nauseam.

By midday, Rin was spent.

She settled for standing guard near Kakashi's location, changing her position every time she felt her consciousness slipping.

Rin maintained her vigil for an hour, before she slipped into unconsciousness.

It was a fitful rest, full of panic, terror, and agonizing memories.

...In her dreams, she did not survive the Chidori...

The sound of a smoke bomb detonating woke her. Rin blinked awake just as her kunai traps were triggered. Through the smoke, she heard a man scream in pain. Another man barked orders, several sounds of affirmative, and then a water jutsu tore through the forest.

 _A group ninjutsu!_ Rin realized too late.

Rin was engulfed in the flood, trying desperately to swim with one arm. The current overwhelmed her and she was flung an unknown distance from Kakashi. Rin hit a tree hard, and she lost all sense of direction. She was going to drown.

When the water receded, Rin sputtered and coughed, gasping desperately for breath. She pulled herself to her knees, and choked out water she hadn't even realized she had swallowed.

"Shit," Rin said to nobody in particular. "Fuck. Shit. Fuck."

Everything hurt. Everything. Everywhere.

She tried to stand, but her left leg buckled and pain nearly robbed her of consciousness. There was no way she could fight back like this, she knew, but she had to try. Rin forced herself to her feet, and settled her weight on her right leg. She cast around for Kakashi's tanto, and saw that it was impaled in a tree fifty yards away.

Rin hobbled to it. And desperately tried to pull it loose with her left hand. It took several seconds of frustrated tugging to pull it free. When it came loose, Rin went with it, tumbling to the ground. The impact sent more pain coursing through her injured arm and leg.

Rin cried out in pain, eyes blurring with tears. She blinked to clear them away.

There were footsteps behind her, and then the cold steel of a kunai was resting against her throat. The tanto was pulled from her grip. Rin's stomach dropped, and a dread settled within her.

"The game is over, little girl," A man said. "Though I admit, you and your little friend gave us more trouble than we thought possible. So know that he'll go to his death screaming in pain, and you'll come back for further experimentation."

Rin snarled. "Don't you dare touch him!"

Several men laughed.

"As if you could stop us," Another voice taunted.

"What are you going to do about it, girl? You're crippled and your friend is unconscious." The first man again. A hand fisted in her hair and she was pulled unceremoniously upright into the air, not quite able to touch the ground.

"Ahh!" Rin screamed at the pain.

"You can watch him die if you want," The Mist ninja said.

Counting the man holding her, there were five of them.

Two of the Mist ninja pulled a waterlogged Kakashi forward. Rin tried to claw at the hand holding her up, and received a punch to her stomach that knocked the breath from her lungs for her trouble. She choked and coughed, desperate for air.

More laughing.

"Eyes up, girl," The man said. "Your friend is going to get his fingers cut off one by one. You should watch."

"Screw you," Rin said. She reached for the man's hand again. Her effort was batted away with ease.

The kunai that had been at her throat pierced her flesh, clear through the bicep of her left arm. Rin opened her mouth, but no sound came out, she convulsed in midair, and her head lulled to the side, left arm limp at her side. She wanted to just drift away until there was nothingness. She let herself fade...

A hand cracked across her face, bringing clarity back to her.

"No time to rest," The man said, grabbing her jaw and holding her head up. Blood dripped from her mouth. The last strike had split her lip and cut the inside of her mouth against her teeth.

"Kakashi! Kakashi wake up!" Rin slurred around the blood. Her voice was desperate, raspy, emotional.

Another strike left Rin reeling. Her scalp was numb and her cheeks swollen. Kakashi did not stir. Rin began to struggle against the grip of her captor, desperately trying to save her.

"She's feisty!" The man holding her said to raucous laughter. "Let's put a stop to that."

In a flash, Kakashi's tanto was glinting in the sunlight. He buried it to the hilt in her stomach. Blood ballooned from her mouth, and Rin spasmed. She couldn't breathe. This was how she was going to die, she knew, but she wished Kakashi could live. He deserved better than to be killed because of her weakness.

"Kill the boy. We need to get this brat back to the base before she bleeds to death."

_No! Kakashi can't die. Not now. Not like this. Please not like this. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease._

She had never been this scared in her life. Never so wild and blind with panic.

Rin felt something brush her mind, something dark, dangerous, powerful. It could help her, she realized. The power could save Kakashi. She reached for it, and chakra flooded her body. To her carnal delight, it did not hurt. She was alive with power! Kakashi's tanto flew from her flesh, and was flung somewhere into the trees. Rin twisted with a rabid ferocity, her hair tore from her scalp and she pulled away from the Mist ninja who was holding onto her. She clawed out the throat of the man who had tortured her with her bare hand, and felt an overwhelming rush of glee when his blood covered her skin.

He collapsed with a gargle and lay still. She giggled.

Oh yes, she felt good. Better than she'd ever felt. Powerful, unstoppable, mighty.

Rin ripped her arm free of its sling and smiled at the remaining ninja. She flexed her arm experimentally. No pain, only strength, only the ability to kill these people. To protect Kakashi from their filthy hands.

She pounced on another ninja, this one, she vaguely realized, was very badly burned. Her hands clasped upon his shoulders and she drove her knee into his groin before biting his neck and pulling out his jugular. The taste of blood filled her mouth and she reveled in it. There was noise behind her, and she wheeled on her next victim, her feral grin was now sick, twisted, bloody.

Rin felt her sense of self slip from her. She was death incarnate. She was life. She loved this new power. Nothing would ever take it from her! She could protect and kill at her discretion, and nothing could stop her.

"What are you?" The man shouted, his face pale, and voice wavering. He was terrified. Rin laughed. The full laugh of someone without worry or regret or care. The laugh of someone who enjoyed that this man was afraid. Afraid like she had been.

"Die!" Rin yelled in a voice far too deep, and wild and unhinged to be her own. The Mist ninja swung a kunai at her, shaky and desperate. She drew back her right fist and easily batted away his kunai with her left hand. The metal blade shattered beneath her fist. She punched with her left, and drove her hand straight through his heart. Whatever part of Rin that had taken over greatly enjoyed watching the man die. With a newfound casual disinterest, Rin lifted the man and threw the man backwards over her head. His blood cascaded on her hair and shoulders as his lifeless body arced over her, and she fixed her gaze on the last three men, all of them were standing around Kakashi, two holding weapons.

She'd kill them for even being that close to him.

A primal roar escaped her throat and she charged. The closest of the three managed to evade her first two fury driven punches, but the third swing caught him in the face and she watched as his jaw was ripped clean from his face. Without a second glance she spun around and delivered a kick to the next mist ninja. He was lifted off his feet and thrown over the third man. He collided with the trunk of a tree, and light left his eyes when his head snapped back violently upon impact.

"Stop," the last man said feebly.

"No! I have to kill you all. I have to protect my friend." Rin growled.

"Please," he asked her.

Blinded by her rage, Rin jumped toward him and drove her fist into his stomach. It would have been a killing blow like all the others, but the last man had twisted at the last second. Instead of killing him, she enjoyed the crunch of his cracking ribs. He grasped her wrist with his right hand as he twisted, and they both fell to the ground. He tried to untangle himself from her, but she was faster, stronger.

Rin was on her feet first. She grabbed her final enemy by the collar and dragged him upright. With an ease she hardly thought possible even minutes before, Rin carried him to the nearest tree.

He tried to break her grip, but couldn't. _How pathetic._

She roughly shoved him against the trunk, and his head slammed against the tree with a satisfying thunk. He grunted in pain and she released him. He slumped down, knees buckling. Rin lifted him back to his feet, and pinned him against the tree with one hand. She punched him, once, twice, three times, but he didn't die.

"Rin," the man wheezed. "Please stop. Please come back." His voice was so quiet. So broken. So weak.

She headbutted the man, and blood fell from his brow to his eyes. She raked her hand across his face and he convulsed violently. His mask fell from his bloodied face, torn by her fingers.

"I'm here," he whispered. "I'll always be right beside you."

Why did he know her name? Why wasn't he running, or fighting back?

She couldn't see him clearly. Everything was a haze of violence, and glee, and arousal. She blinked. Was his hair silver?

The bloodlust left her eyes and she saw that she was holding Kakashi against the tree. Kakashi, not a faceless Mist ninja. Kakashi, who was hovering on the edge of life and death. She recoiled, and he fell gracelessly to the ground.

"K-Kakashi?" Rin asked after a very long moment. She was shaking. She fell to her knees. She crawled to him, she shook his shoulder. Nothing, no response. She checked his pulse, he was too still. He wasn't breathing, she realized. He wasn't breathing!


End file.
